Bruce Fein and John Nichols on George W. Bush and Presidential Overreach

January 30, 2013

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In this 2007 Moyers Moment from Bill Moyers Journal, Constitutional scholar Bruce Fein and journalist John Nichols discuss how George W. Bush, during his administration’s “war on terror,” claimed powers never intended for the president. They also cite other historical examples of both wisdom and weakness in how the executive branch wielded its authority.

Fein argues that we can defeat terror without sidestepping our integral system of checks and balances. “No one wants to downgrade the fact that we have abominations out there and people want to kill us,” he tells Bill. “But we should not inflate the danger and we should not cast aside what we are as a people.”

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